Compliance With the Surviving Sepsis Campaign Bundle: A Multicenter Study From Turkey

Area of Science:

• Critical Care Medicine
• Infectious Diseases
• Healthcare Quality Improvement

Background:

• Sepsis bundle compliance is crucial for improving patient outcomes.
• Adherence to sepsis protocols varies globally, with limited data from Turkey.
• Effective sepsis management requires timely interventions and consistent protocol application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the rates of compliance with sepsis bundle protocols among healthcare providers in Turkey.
• To identify potential barriers and facilitators to sepsis bundle compliance in Turkish intensive care units (ICUs).
• To establish a baseline for sepsis bundle adherence in Turkey for future quality improvement initiatives.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective study was conducted across 45 intensive care units (ICUs) in Turkey.
• Data were collected between March 2, 2018, and October 1, 2018.
• Compliance with specific sepsis bundle elements, including diagnosis time, antibiotic administration, culturing, vasopressor use, and lactate measurement, was assessed.

Main Results:

• Sepsis was diagnosed within six hours in 59.8% of patients.
• Median times for key interventions: antibiotic administration (120 min), culturing (24 min), vasopressor initiation (40 min), and second lactate (24 hours).
• Compliance rates for tissue/organ perfusion follow-up, and 3- and 6-hour sepsis bundle protocols were all 0%.

Conclusions:

• This study represents the first evaluation of sepsis bundle compliance in Turkey.
• A critical finding was the 0% compliance rate with sepsis bundle protocols in participating ICUs.
• The observed lack of compliance underscores an urgent need for targeted interventions to improve sepsis care in Turkey.